From the Principal

It’s not every day that a 27-metre-long dragon weaves its way through our school gymnasium. Nor is it every day that we observe a 140th anniversary. But that is exactly how we began Term 4 at Girton – with a start-of-term celebration that was nothing short of extraordinary. In my address at the event, I chose not to focus on the remarkable place that Girton is, but on the people who have shaped it. I shared the inspiring story of one of those individuals: Miss Jean d’Helin, who assumed the headship of Girton College in 1952. 

When she arrived, Jean found the formerly great school in a state of decline, with inadequate facilities, stagnant enrolments and dwindling academic standards. Luckily, Jean was not afraid of a challenge. She was a trailblazer in many ways – from being one of the few women of her generation to earn a science degree from The University of Melbourne, to her nurturing, student-centred educational philosophy. She embraced the challenge of rebuilding the school with her characteristic optimism and tireless work ethic, improving its subject offerings and staffing; initiating the construction of progressive new facilities, including the school’s first science laboratories; and instilling a culture of care, confidence and connection among her students. During her 19 years of leadership, enrolments and academic standards soared, with Girton emerging as the leading private school of the region once more.  

It gave me great joy to share this lesser-known chapter of the school’s history with today’s generation of Girtonians. I believe Jean’s story illustrates that we can all create a lasting legacy simply by striving to leave this school a better place than we found it. It is a legacy that Jean shares with many other influential figures from the school’s rich history – from visionary leaders, to generous parents and friends, to remarkable students who have gone on to make their mark in our world. Perhaps this is the true essence of being a Girtonian: striving to leave this wonderful school even better than we found it. 

Following my address at the assembly, we screened a moving video celebrating Girton’s 140-year legacy. Created in honour of this momentous milestone, the video was painstakingly assembled from archival photos and videos sourced by one of our school’s most avid historians, Ms Kristi Mitchell, to form a lasting record of the school’s journey from 1884 to today. As always, our students were at the heart of the project – you will see many dressed in vintage costumes recreating historic moments, and hear the beautiful narration provided by Year 11 students Chelsea White and Andreas Ginis. I would like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to everyone in our school community who helped to make our 140th anniversary celebrations so memorable. 

The first week of Term 4 concluded with the same uplifting energy, as students and staff attended our Senior School House Dinners, and we announced the school’s purchase of a new property on High Street, which is currently occupied by Red Rooster. I am enormously excited by the potential of this site, which will give our school valuable space to expand across the block bordered by Vine, High, Wattle and Creek Streets. Its strategic location on Bendigo’s main thoroughfare, alongside our existing and future senior campus facilities, offers a range of development options that we look forward to exploring with our school community and other local stakeholders. Continuing to invest in the development of our campus is another, very tangible way that we can follow in Jean’s footsteps and leave our school an even better place than we found it. 

We can also see Jean’s legacy reflected in the spirit of this generation of students. This was clearly evident on Wednesday as I had the privilege of hearing the phenomenal candidacy speeches delivered by the Year 11 students vying for school leadership positions in 2025. And of course, we have also seen this strength of spirit in the achievements of the wonderful Class of 2024, whom we farewelled with a series of special events today. These concluded just moments ago with their final assembly and a memorable walk through our school to the applause of their fellow students and teachers.  

I look forward to reflecting on the accomplishments of our graduating students in the next issue of eLink. Until then, I would like to thank our community for such a wonderful and energetic start to the final term of 2024, and I wish you a wonderful weekend with your family.

Dr Emma O’Rielly  

Principal